We’ll find abducted schoolgirls –Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday, reviewed the state of security in the na­tion, pledging that the Fed­eral Government will ensure the abduction of about 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State does not become an­other unresolved case.

The president, who spoke on the Presidential Media Chat on the Nigerian Televi­sion Authority (NTA), also described the recent bomb blasts in Nyanya as, “quite worrisome”, admitted that the nation was passing through, “trying times.”

Jonathan, however, ap­pealed to parents and guard­ians of the abducted girls to cooperate with the government towards rescuing the children as soon as possible, saying their cooperation was critical.

He, however, insisted that security agents were making efforts to bring the security situation in the country under control.

The President said that if Nigerians knew the number of planned attacks by Boko Haram and other terror groups that security agents had foiled, they would better appreciate the work of the security agen­cies.

He confirmed that the Federal Government had ap­proached leaders of different countries across the world, including President Barack Obama of the United States, to seek help to stamp out terror­ism and other security threats to the the nation.

The president disclosed that over 90 per cent of the female students abducted at Chibok were Christians, maintaining that Boko Haram was intent on causing a war between Christians and Muslims in the country.

Pledging to ensure the res­cue of the girls, he said secu­rity agents had begun to comb communities around Chibok as they had not been able to es­tablish the whereabouts of the students outside the country.

He added that the Federal Government was working with Northern elders to end the reign of the Boko Haram sect in the area.

He, however, said the gov­ernment could not negotiate with Boko Haram because its members were faceless.

His words: “People talk about the Niger Delta militants and compare it with the Boko Haram sect, but the fact is that they are not the same. The mil­itants did not go about town in a killing spree. They had griev­ances and they had faces, so we were able to dialogue with them. As the deputy governor of Bayelsa State, I was one of those, who went to the creeks to meet with the militants in the process of making peace.

“But the case of the Boko Haram is not the same. They are faceless, so we don’t even know them, neither do we know what they want. And be­cause we don’t know them, we cannot talk or negotiate.

“However, just like we did in the case of the militants, we are employing the assistance of elders and community leaders from Borno State.”

On the readiness of the se­curity agencies to tackle inse­curity, the president said that he has given the order for more people to be recruited into the army. He assured that despite the challenges, the security agencies were capable of han­dling the situation.

The president urged Nige­rians to exercise caution in the way they comment on the security situation in the coun­try, saying some persons were playing “playing politics on very serious national issues.”

On the delay in declaring his ambition to contest 2015 presidential election, President Jonathan said the delay should not be a problem to Nigerians, stressing that what should of paramount importance to Ni­gerians were the the economy, national security and how to ensure free and fair election in the country in 2015.

According to him, it was expected that the All Progres­sives Congress (APC), which is the main challenger should produce its presidential candi­date first.

On the 2015 election, Presi­dent Jonathan assured that the Independent National Elector­al Commission (INEC) would conduct credible polls prom­ising that the executive and the legislature would work to­gether to provide the logistics needed to ensure the conduct of acceptable polls.

On the World Economic Fo­rum (WEFA) on Africa, sched­uled to hold from Wednesday to Friday in Abuja, Jonathan said the forum would give Nigerians future benefits and encourage more investments.

He explained that the direc­tive that all public offices and government-owned schools should not open from Wednes­day to Friday was issued to ensure effective management of traffic in the Federal Capital Territory during the meeting.

On the power sector, Jona­than assured Nigerians that the privatisation of the power sec­tor had set Nigeria on the path of continued upward power generation in the country, in­sisting that the sector would always get better.

He was optimistic that the Nigerian economy would im­prove when the power sector is stabilised, adding that his administration would leave no stone unturned to ensure that Nigerians enjoyed stable and regular electricity across the country.